Father-in-law's estate

My father in law recently passed away and his will stipulated that his assets were to be divided by my wife and her brother. He had bought a house in Florida with his girlfriend around 7 years ago and both names are on the deed. She is claiming that Florida real estate law is that ownership of the home is transfered to the surviving partner if there is nothing in writting.
Is there any truth to this???

joe2005 said:

She is claiming that Florida real estate law is that ownership of the home is transfered to the surviving partner if there is nothing in writting.
Is there any truth to this???

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Not on the surface, but there could be some confusion as to the EXACT 'style' of the title. If in JTWROS (Joint Tenant with Rights of Survivor), then the property would revert 100% ownership in the surviving title holder. And no, it does NOT require a spousal relationship.

Joint Tenancy With Right of Survivorship: Property that is co-owned by more than one owner in Joint Tenancy With Right of Survivorship (JTWROS) differs from T/C property in that both owners of JTWROS property are presumed under the law to own 100% of the asset. Thus, if one owner dies, their interest is terminated and the surviving joint owner (who already owns a 100% interest) becomes the only owner of record.

Legal commentaries have heralded the benefits of JTWROS for years. The primary benefit of JTWROS property is that there is no death probate when the first joint owner dies. However, this argument fails in that the property would be subject to probate on the death of the second joint owner and JTWROS property affords no protection against a disability probate on the incapacitation of either owner. What’s worse is that JTWROS property is not controlled by your will or trust, thus most if not all, tax planning benefits will be lost when JTWROS property is utilized. Additionally, there are a number of other adverse tax, creditor, and loss of control consequences associated with JTWROS property. For this reason, JTWROS property should generally be avoided at all costs.

For more, go to: http://www.msmoney.com/mm/expert_insights/control_property.htm
http://www.flabar.org/tfb/TFBConsum.nsf/0/92f75229484644c985256b2f006c5a7a?OpenDocument